Brandon Riot 1919 This wasn’t Brandon's first taste of unrest. Back in 1816, the sleepy Suffolk town rioted over the soaring price of bread and meat. But the events of 1919 were different. This time the crowd, estimated to be half the town's 2,000 population, rose not for their own immediate need, but in defence of a fellow resident, one they perceived had been wronged. When the war of 1914-18 ended, soldiers returned home, many to a land falling short of what had been promised. The harsh reality hit them like a sledgehammer. They felt the established order had not served them well. Men got angrier and angrier, all the time looking to express this angst. The most radical proposed violence. Revolution in the air. It just needed that one spark. Brandon, quiet and sleepy, offered it. It started with a shove and ended with a mob on the street. Attempts to get inside a shop, with threats to kill the owner. The hierarchy became worried, they in turn needed a scapegoat. Those who ignore such lessons do so at their peril. After all, if Brandon could riot in 1816, and again in 1919, who would dare provoke its residents again? Let me introduce to you … the ring leaders, the victims, the heroes ... the story of Brandon Riot, 1919, and its aftermath.